Disbelief
by marco-loves-eren
Summary: Eren never thought that Marco Bodt could be one of them. Then again, he never thought he himself would be one either. ErenMarco. ((yeah, yeah, the title's horrible))
1. Chapter 1

You thought you had seen it all. Really, you had. What else was there to see? Yeah, there was the ocean and the sand hills and all that Armin talked about, but did that even really matter at this point? You were about ninety percent sure you'd never see them. There really wasn't anything that could surprise you anymore.

You swing around the castle, doing a double check for titans. It's surprising that you would have to double check, but you do it anyways. Of course, there's nothi-hold on. What was that? Was one of those guys shifting? You stand on the highest wall, looking to see who it was.

It…wasn't any of them. At all. Oh, god, this one looked…familiar, in a way. It was turned around, however, so you couldn't see its face. You will it to turn around. You want to see what it looks like, although you can't place why.

It finally does, and you freeze, hardly able to breathe. Freckles. That's the first thing you notice. Why would a titan have freckles? That's the least of your concern, though. Your main concern is that you know who this is. No way you're going to admit it though. You can't. You can't even think it, what makes you think you could say it?

Even though you're not thinking or saying anything, you almost immediately shoot out and grab onto it, swinging around and drawing your blades. It brings its hand up, covering the nape of its neck, and you think of Annie briefly. Damn. Maybe this one knew her. Of course, you knew it did, but that's not important right now. You slash its arm, trying to get the hand to fall. It doesn't, and you hope to whoever and whatever you can that this one can't crystallize.

You think for a second, then hack at its fingers. It quickly lets go of its neck, looking at its hand and screeching. You cover your ears quickly, hoping that will work. When it stops and goes quiet, you dispense your blades, equip new ones, and slash at its neck. It's not enough to kill it or its…master? Host? Whatever. You're not trying to kill either of them. You just want the person in there out. You try and cut a circle to get them out, and slash the titan's neck again, making it fall. You jump down before you can fall, landing next to it, then getting on top of it to pull them out.

They sit up before you can, breathing heavily, and they look up at you. You look at them, and you can see their face through the steam. You were right. It was him. You didn't want to admit it-he was the last person you thought of when you thought of a titan shifter-but there was no denying it now.

"Eren?" And the voice is what cinches it all together. He blinks and tries to stand up, but fails. You can see why. He must've been in that titan body for a while. It's a wonder you got him out in time. You look him in the eye, almost glaring. You have a feeling you might regret saving him, if you could even call it that.

"Marco."

((wh oa this is short why is it so short))

((gross))


	2. Chapter 2

Marco is too weak to walk, so being just the _wonderful_ you are, you carry him back to base. You'll deal with him maybe-maybe-not being a traitor later. Neither of you speak much on the way-he's took weak, as you've established, and you're…well, you don't know what you're feeling. There seems to be a huge mix. You're relieved that he's alive, but you're also mad that he lied to all of the squad. You feel betrayed, sad, in shock, all at once. Most of all, you're confused.

Eventually, he speaks.

"Where're you taking me?"

You don't respond-you'll let him figure it out. Briefly, you wonder what Jean will think. God, he might pass out. You snicker at the thought.

"What're you laughing at, Eren…?"

"Be quiet. I'm thinking." This makes Marco shut up for now, and you hope he doesn't speak anymore. It just makes you more confused.

You get him to base, dropping him at the step. You step around him, opening the door, and walking in. Mikasa is the first to get to you, with Armin following.

"Are you alright? You're not hurt?" she asks. You shake your head.

"There was a titan we missed, though. I took care of it, but…"

"But what?"

You look over at Marco. "Help me get this guy in."

Both Mikasa and Armin go to him, Mikasa grabbing his legs while Armin grabs his arms. When Armin sees his face, he nearly drops him, his face full of shock.

"I know," you say, "but first, we have to get him to a bed or something. When he rests up he can tell us what happened."

Armin nods, and both of them start moving Marco to one of the beds. They set him down, and you kneel next to it.

"Do we let the others come in?" Armin asked.

"Not yet," you say. "We'll wait until he can stand on his own. Then we tell them what happened." You look at Marco's face, wondering why he needed to fake his death. Then you wonder if it was a fake, maybe it was an accident and he held back the regeneration. It was certainly plausible. After all, he didn't know Marco like Jean did-you had no idea of what might have happened before training. Marco was obviously the last person you'd think of when you thought of titan shifters, but, here you are, and here he is, very not dead.

Marco finally falls asleep, not bothering to deal with the three hovering around him. You look at the others, who didn't seem to notice who you brought in. Wait. Jean was coming over. You nudge Armin and stand in front of Marco, motioning for the other two to do the same.

"Hey. Who'd you bring in?" he asks, folding his arms.

"No one," you say-as much as you hate Jean, there was a line you wouldn't cross. Marco was pretty much that line.

He raises an eyebrow at this. "Quit lying, Jaeger. I saw you bring some guy in. Let me see him, maybe Squad Leader Hanji will know what to do."

None of you move, knowing what will happen if Jean sees Marco. To be honest? You're really not in the mood to see him burst into tears. Never a good time. He starts to push past you to see him, and Mikasa grabs his arm tightly.

"We'll let you see him when he's awake. Now go," she says, looking him dead in the eye. Jean nods, pulling his hand back and walking away, casting a few glances toward you as he does. You sigh out of relief, and look back at Marco. You have too many questions for him to just let him sleep, but you're sure it'd be hard to wake him up.

"How'd you find him?" Armin asks, his eyes wide.

"He was a titan. I cut him out."

Both Armin and Mikasa show surprise at this. You really can't blame them. Marco was the last person anyone thought would side with those three. Then again, you remember how Bertholdt was and it becomes a little less unbelievable. He may not have even sided with them. That's an idea. You'll stick with it until it's proven otherwise.

You just hope it's not.


	3. Chapter 3

Squad Leader Hanji is the first to see Marco. At first, you worry that you'll have to bribe them, but somehow they promise to keep their mouth shut.

"Don't blame me if someone comes and sees, though," they say.

You quickly think back to the scare with Jean earlier. Krista told you he had broken down quite a bit after Marco's "death," and to be honest, you don't doubt it. They were close, you knew, and you couldn't imagine how you'd feel if Mikasa or Armin died.

"We're making sure no one does," Mikasa says. "We already had one problem."

Hanji nods. "Well. I should be off. I have an experiment going, and it might turn out to be reeeally important." They then turn and walk out of the room, leaving the three of you and an unconscious Marco.

About twenty minutes later, Marco wakes up, groaning. You immediately turn from where you were talking to Armin to face him.

"Eren? H-how long was I out?" he asks, looking around.

"Only an hour," you say. You motion for Mikasa and Armin to leave, and as soon as they do, you lean in, looking him straight in the eye. If you were intimidating, good. You wanted to be. You needed answers, and a calm approach wouldn't get you anywhere, you don't think. You're pretty sure he wouldn't give you answers if you weren't. "How long were you in that titan body?" you press?

He shrinks back. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, Marco, _how long were you in that titan body?"_

Marco sighs, looking down. "How long has it been since you plugged that hole in the wall?"

Your eyes widen. It had been that long? You look around to see if anyone's watching, but Mikasa is talking to Sasha and Armin is talking to Jean. Jean glances over for a second and you panic, but he doesn't keep his gaze or gape, so Armin must have mentioned you or something. That seemed to happen, along with Jean and Armin talking. Maybe they were friends now, but right now you didn't care.

"Eren. Please don't tell Jean. He won't be able to handle it," Marco says, pulling you out of your thoughts. Kind of a good thing, too. As previously stated, you needed answers-you had to be present in every form to get them.

"He's bound to find out eventually," you mutter, and look back to him.

"I know, but…try."

"Why should I listen to you anyways? You made us all think you were dead and made your best friend have some kind of mental breakdown."

"Because I know about Annie and the others, and I'm not like them."

Well, it's a weak argument, and after all, you've got no proof that Marco _is_ one of them. You'll have to go with it for now. You're reminded again how much time has passed-Marco's voice is considerably deeper than you remember.

"Alright. Fine. But I've got my eye on-"

"Marco?!"

You look up to see Jean in the doorway. Dammit. You thought Armin would hold him back. He probably tried, but Jean was pretty stubborn.

Marco sits up, then stands. At least he can stand now. "Jean, you should probably leave."

"No, I'm not going anywhere!" he says. "Wh…what the hell are you doing here?!"

He then looks at you, as if you know anything. Which you don't. You haven't gotten answers yet, dammit.

"I promise, I'll tell you everything, but first, you have to leave. Okay?"

You step back. Marco was usually pretty good at talking Jean down and all, but given the circumstances, you don't think that'll work this time around. To be completely honest, you can understand why.

"If anyone should leave, it's him!" Jean shouts, pointing at you. Not like you didn't see that one coming. Oh well. You stay quiet for once. You want to see this play out.


	4. Chapter 4

**((A/N: okay for some reason people were asking me what was going on with Marco when this is going on, so, uh. This is in marco's pov. This will be the only chapter like this.))**

You look at Eren when Jean points at him, mentally cursing yourself when you get that weird feeling in your chest. Damn it, now's not the time, and even if it was, you thought for sure you were over that stupid crush on Eren.

It becomes clear that neither Eren nor Jean are going to leave anytime soon, and you sigh, sitting back down on the bed.

"There's not a whole lot to say," you start, speaking to both of them. "I thought I was dead, but…clearly not. I woke up as they were carrying me to the pyre…I don't know how I held back the regeneration, but I did, and when I saw Eren as a titan, I was sure that pretty much saved me a lot of trouble.

"I got away before they could burn me, and I ran all the way to outside the wall, anything to not get recognized, and then…well, I had a theory. So I bit my hand, became a titan, and had no idea how to get back. That's where Eren came in a long while after, and here I am."

Jean gapes at you for a second, and you're not entirely sure he heard what you were saying.

"Jean." You snap your fingers. "Stop staring." Wait-ugh, that sounds bad. You want him to look at you, you want both of them to look at you when you talk. It's some weird pet peeve you've got. "And listen."

He closes his mouth and keeps looking at you, as does Eren. Your heart does some more weird stuff in your chest, even though you will it not to.

"I'm not with those other guys. I promise. I wouldn't lie to either of you, I swear."

Jean speaks up again. "I'm having a hard time believing you, seeing as you made me think you were _dead!"_

You cringe. "I had to. I was already confirmed dead, and if any of the cadets or my squad or anyone saw me…they'd kill me! You know that, look what happened to Eren!"

"I have to admit, he's right," Eren says. "They almost did." He starts to think, and you stop-or at least try-looking at him. Let him think and all. You do glance at him a few times, and then focus solely on Jean. That's better.

"You could have told me, though! I…I wouldn't try to kill you or whatever, I'd-"

"Jean, shut up for a second. What if you become an asset, like I did? Fight against the titans yourself and all?"

It's not a bad idea, you think, but you were never really one for fighting. Of course, you did place in seven. You know how. And obviously you had to defend yourself from the other titans when they tried to attack you. But…can you keep it up?

"Maybe," you say. Your mouth feels dry as you say it, and you look around for water. Whatever. You'll sneak around and get it later. Right now you just need to get the point across. Mainly you want to be left alone, but fat chance of that happening. Unless you can get them out yourself. "I…I'm still kind of tired. I think I want to go back to sleep."

Eren glares pointedly at Jean. He finally throws in the towel and leaves the room, looking at you as he does. You look at Eren.

"I'm staying," he says. "I may believe you for now, but someone has to make sure you don't try and escape or anything."

Your mouth goes drier at the thought of Eren watching you sleep, but you push it out of your mind. Now's not the damn time. "Alright, whatever." You lay back down, closing your eyes and feigning sleep. You doubt he falls for it, but you know after a while you really will be asleep and he won't have to worry. You roll over so you're not facing him, so that he won't be able to tell. Not that that would work either, you just want to not be interrogated right now.

If he's caught on, he's not saying anything, and he sits down, sighing and muttering to himself. You don't listen to what he saying-you're supposed to be asleep-and eventually you stop faking, and really go to sleep.


End file.
